Anyone knows if wrist weights are useful? Im planning to buy one that weights 2lbs. Does it helps in strengthening the wrist or are there any disadvantages like risks of getting your wrist injured? Thanks!
Do you mean weights that you attach to your wrist, like this? Those obviously do not strenghen your wrist muscles (=lower arm muscles, which attach at the elbow and pull your hand up or down and move your fingers) at all, since they do not add resistance to the movement of your fingers or palm. If you want to make your wrist stronger, you have to train your fingers (expanding and closing against the force of some rubber ball or tetra band, and don't forget the thumb) and the whole hand (again, pulling against a tetra band or lifting small dumbbells in both directions). All of this is useful to increase your lower arm muscles. If done correctly (low-medium weight, medium-high repetition, and stop immediately at the first sign of pain which goes beyond good-feeling ache), it would be very hard to injure your wrist. The most important question is: what do you mean by "useful"? To prevent injury while playing badminton? To improve your smash? If you are looking to improve your forehand smash, most places will tell you that wrist (lower arm) strength plays a minor part in this.
Maybe a training racquet might be a better idea? Never used one myself, but here's a place to start.... http://www.badmintonshoponline.us/unlimitshop/index.php?cPath=1_36 Hope that helps
You can always just use your racket inside it's case as the weight, simply perform upward & downward motions, side-to-side motions, and figures of 8 & reversed. I've been using that for quite some while, and although it probably isn't as quick as using a proper weight, it prevents you from overdoing or straining your wrist.
